The positives. Well the transplant worked. I have never had one hiccup from this kidney from the minute I received it. Also I had total confidence in the staff and the team. I was kept informed at every stage and met lots of members of the team, not just the surgeons and the physicians, but the biochemists and even the renal pharmacists. Long talks, lots of reassurance, a lot of encouragement and there was a lot of excitement going on also.

Life has returned to normal and we are enjoying our retirement. I have had tremendous support from John throughout all of this, even up to the gift of the kidney. He just kept me going through the really bad times. He just says “ Hanging about, taking me to Leeds, hanging about for five hours, four hours in the morning, taking me across town for five hours in the afternoon.” Taking me home for those weeks before the transplant took his mind off what he was going to go through. So that was our impression of blood washing; basically there is not a lot different to dialysis, but it worked for us. If anybody offers you it, go for it!

Please note, this page is a summary of the full conference speech (click here for the full transcript).

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